Germany: inflation 8.7% higher in February than last year
Germany’s federal statistics office, Destatis, said on Wednesday that February’s inflation rate was 8.7%, the same as the previous month.
This dashed hopes that consumer prices would continue to fall slightly, as they did in the autumn, after rising 10.4% in October.
Soaring energy and food prices continued to drive the high rate of inflation, despite government measures to ease the energy burden on consumers and the European Central Bank (ECB) gradually raising interest rates to further reduce the inflation.
Food prices show ‘above average growth’
Energy costs in February 2023 were 19.1% higher than the same period in 2022, while food prices were 21.8% higher.
Destatis noted that while energy prices “slowed slightly”, food prices continued to show “above-average growth”.
Average inflation in Germany in 2022 was 7.9%, a post-war record. Driven by the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, rising consumer costs have driven many into poverty across the country, despite numerous government bailouts.
Other major euro zone economies continue to face the same situation, data showed.
es/ar (AFP, dpa)
Source: DW
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